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User blog:Pseudo C/First Impressions Series: Magnus
The VH1 Universe is full of crazy interesting characters, most of which are far deeper and more complex than what a readers first expectaions may be. I became interested in the Valiant Universe throught the PS1 game Shadowman and years later, jumped into the universe head first. Almost all of the characters that I read complletely confounded my initial expectations, hance this blog. I intend to go from character to character talking about what I thought the book would be about, what it turned out to be, and finally, why you should read it. I will attempt to avoid spoilers when possible as to not ruin some of the great story telling of these books. I hope to hear from anyone else about their experience with these characters as well. So with that out of the way let's start with the first book published by Valiant in 1991, Magnus Robot Fighter! What I Thought Going In: When I decided to read Valiant as a whole, I figured that their would be some characters that I would read only to understand their place in the universe and nothing else. I figured books like this would only be enjoyable in the "what is going on over there" sense. I was SURE that Magnus Robot Fighter would fall into this category. Magnus, at first glance, seemed to fall into the "pulpiest" of comic book cliches. He is a guy who punches robots. Literally. His outfit is super 60's comic hero (appropriately, as he was concieved in 1963 by Russ Manning.) I figured the storys would devolve into a moster of the week type story that cannot be solved until Magnus decides to punch it, and thus solves all of the problems, I was convinced that I would find this book to be dumb beyond reason. And then I read it... Initial Thoughts: Magnus ended up being far different than I imagined. With a quick origin, the first arc entitled Steel Nation begins. This arc uses Magnus' powers as a way of portraying action, but not as the only story device as I though it might. Magnus Robot Fighter becomes a story about human tendancy in a world filled with every luxury. Magnus is an ideal thrust into a world that expects him to solve all of its problems. He is a fumdamental constant that is challenged by a people who are too complacent to deal with the problems of their own lives. Magnus finds himself more at odds with those he is supposed to protect, as he finds them less and less human in nature. Why You Should Read It: Any fan of Isaac Asimov's robot novel will find a comfy, cozy home here. The stories are more cereberal in regards to human nature in interaction with technology than the oversaturated stories of today that involve robots attempting to enslave humans, or take over the world. Magnus is a book of evollving social structures in a world more and more dependant on technology. To keep this idea fresh, the story also introduces the idea that as Magnus pushes the depencancy on technology back, the people start to put their dependance on him instead, completely confounding Magnus' attempt to have the people think and act for themselves. Plus, Magnus does karate chop the heads of of many, many, many robots, and it is admittedly, super cool looking. I hope you enjoyed this first look into Magnus. Please let me know your thought on him as well as anything I can improve as I move forward through the VH1 characters. Thanks for your support! Category:Blog posts